Kroger buys Harris Teeter for $2.4 billion

The announcement came five months after Matthews-based Harris Teeter, which has 212 grocery stores, hired J.P. Morgan to help the company explore sales options. Two private equity firms had expressed an interest in Harris Teeter, the grocer said at the time.

Kroger, based in Cincinnati, said Harris Teeter will maintain its headquarters in Matthews. However, the company also said it expects to generate $40 million to $50 million worth of annual savings by combining the two companies.
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The sale gives Kroger a larger footprint in the Southeast, as well as adding to its already formidable bulk. The combined company will operate 2,631 supermarkets and employ 368,300 workers in 34 states.